Why Temple Might Give UConn A Treat This Halloween

Lots of college football fans across the country probably haven’t even heard of the American Athletic Conference. Those who are aware of its existence probably don’t pay much attention to it. And can anyone really blame them? Let’s face it: The American is not the Big East. The American is not the home of Louisville, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Boston College, Miami, or Virginia Tech. The American is not a power conference.   

But on Saturday night, the nationally televised, prime time game on ABC matches #9 Notre Dame with #21 Temple. …Wait, what? Temple is in the top 25? It sure is, and so are #16 Memphis and #18 Houston, both of whom join Temple in the dwindling group of unbeatens. With three teams in the top 25, the American Athletic Conference is suddenly in the spotlight. Just three years into its existence, there are some light whispers about how good the American is. Most people aren’t buying into the American and you can hardly blame them considering Memphis, Temple, and Houston aren’t exactly football powers. A few people may have noticed Memphis beat Ole Miss two weeks ago. A lot of people will notice if Temple is able to pull off the upset against 9th ranked and history-rich Notre Dame in prime time on Saturday night.

This is the American’s chance. A victory by Temple would get people to take a fresh look at the conference. And upon further examination, people will find the American’s performance this year to be surprisingly successful, especially at the top. Memphis beat an Ole Miss team that took down powerhouse Alabama. Temple beat a Penn State team that is currently 6-2 and tied for fourth place in the mighty Big Ten. Houston doesn’t have a signature victory yet but it beat a decent power-conference team (Louisville) and its high-octane offense has put up 49+ points four times this season, with a minimum of 34 in every game. It gets a little thin after that but the conference does have a few additional wins over Power-5 members: Virginia Tech, Syracuse, Kansas, and Miami.

Now let’s take a big step back and zoom out to take a look at the big picture for UConn. We all know the university would love to get into a power conference. The problem is that neither the ACC nor the Big Ten are looking to expand, and the only power conference which might be looking at expansion is the Big 12, for which UConn would be a very odd geographical fit (though I don’t think it’s impossible- more on that in a future post). But what if there was another possibility? Let’s say Temple pulls off an upset on Saturday night and the conference has a good performance in bowl games. Could the American possibly become a power conference? Probably not, but it would start to get some respect and there might start to be some chatter about it. Now let’s say the American decides to make its move by adding BYU and Boise State as football-only members. Could the American become a power conference then? Hmm…

Seemingly out of nowhere, it might become a legitimate question. I’m not saying this is all going to happen and the American will become a power conference. I’m not even saying there is a good chance it’s going to happen. But maybe, just maybe, UConn could have a shot at getting into a power conference after all. So this Halloween, when Temple rings the doorbell and people across the country open their television door, let’s hope they remember “hu” sent these Owls. Because if Temple can pull off the trick, Americans- including UConn- could start nibbling on a very, very yummy treat.

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